Photo of the Month - June

Mountain Goat and Storm Crow

These are my two featured photographs of the month for June! They were taken on the same day at Mt. Evans in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It’s one of my favorite tourist sites in Colorado and I’ve visited almost every year since moving to this state in 2013. 

Mt. Evans is 14,721 feet (4,350 meters) high. The Mt. Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America and it is only open in the summer. You can typically catch a view of the mountain goats and birds wandering around near the summit which is how I caught these two beautiful animals. 

My parents and I were beginning our descent back down the mountain when I saw this pretty mountain goat grazing on some shrubs by the side of the road. Not wanting to miss a great shot, I pulled off the road. I was leaning against the front of the car, trying to provide as much space between us as I could so that I didn’t frighten her away. I piqued her curiosity and she started walking up towards me. She was about four feet away from me when she stopped! I’ve never had a wild animal come so close to me! 

Another amusing note to add is that a few of the pictures I snapped right before this one caught a grey Audi sedan driving around the switchback in the background. It turns out that a group of my girlfriends from Denver also decided to drive up to Mt. Evans that day! They immediately recognized me and called out from the windows while hooting and raving in awe of my proximity with the goat. I was expecting them all to be too hung over from an Umphrey’s McGee concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater to make it out into the mountains that day! I’m glad they came :D

The Storm Crow was also photographed at the end of the trip. It was an amazing sight to see the clouds in the distance. You can see miles of wilderness that stretches on forever at the peak of Mt. Evans. The crow was cawing loudly and perched perfectly on the rock. Crows are my dad’s favorite animal so this is a special piece for him! I love how intense this photograph is. You can feel the electricity in the air as this lonely crow cries his warning of the oncoming weather.

Standing on top of Mt. Evans, on top of the world, puts things in perspective. Everything is small and far away when I look out across the Rockies. Fresh air and beautiful natural scenery can do wonders for the psyche. I need to go out and explore more often!